"Southern Fried Fuel" to Power SC Garbage Truck

Even though it may seem like just about everything in the South can be deep-fried, you probably never thought of this one: Southern fried fuel.

The City of Columbia kicked off its "Southern Fried Fuel" environmental initiative Monday, in which used cooking oil will be recycled into biodiesel fuel that will power a city garbage truck.

City residents are being asked to bring their used cooking oil to the city Public Works facility at 2910 Colonial Drive. Midlands Biofuels will pick up the used oil weekly and convert it.

"There's a lot of people that fry here in South Carolina and we can certainly collect a lot of oil, if it were brought here," says Joe Renwick, co-owner and process engineer for Midlands Biofuels.

He says any diesel engine can use biodiesel without needing any modifications. Once the older garbage truck is using the biodiesel, it'll put out at least 80 percent fewer emissions, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Air Quality office.

Because of that, and the state's problems in certain areas with high ozone levels, Brian Barnes of DHEC's Air Quality office says, "I can certainly see this growing into Spartanburg, Greenville, Charleston. There's a need for it there and I certainly see that going that way." 

The cleaner air from a truck running biodiesel is noticeable, Renwick says, because of the different smell.

"Everyone across the board says, 'Oh, it smells like french fries.' But it doesn't really. It definitely has a unique smell. It's a really, it's a sweet smell. It's not offensive at all. Nothing like gasoline. Nothing like diesel. You can sniff as hard as you can; it will not take your breath away," he says.

Besides providing fuel for the truck, converting the cooking oil keeps it from being poured down sinks, clogging up city drainage systems. Barnes says the city of Hoover, Alabama is saving millions of dollars in maintenance costs because of fewer sewage system clogs.

Biofuels are already saving taxpayers money in Laurens and Abbeville counties. School districts there used to have to pay to have someone pick up and properly dispose of their used cooking oil. Now, Midlands Biofuels picks it up for free.